Author: Tanya Bissell

There are two key ways to avoid the status of potentially responsible party (PRP) at future Superfund sites:

Manage all waste with appropriate care

Perform appropriate inquiries into the history of new properties prior to acquisition

Corporations can become PRPs because of their ownership and/or operation of historically contaminated property, their historical waste management practices, or their historical disposal of hazardous substances at non-owned disposal sites, such as landfills.

A team of experts at Roux Associates wrote a paper, “Proactive Evaluation of PRP Status at Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites” that was published in the Environmental ClaimsJournal, to provide a method by which insurance companies, waste producers, and property owners can proactively evaluate their potential liability associated with environmental response action costs at contaminated sites.

Roux Associates has a limited amount of complimentary copies. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, click here. Or you can visit the Journal of Environmental Forensics to purchase the article.

One of Roux’s clients experienced a breach of their engineered cap because both the excavation contractor and property owner were not aware of the existing cap prior to the work. This occurrence caused our client to be out of compliance with state regulations, which could have led to unwanted penalties. Following this incident, we were called to assist our client with initiating and monitoring an 811 One Call Program to protect their site.

The requirement of “Call Before you Dig” or the “811 One Call Program” is a common practice throughout the country. Any party planning on performing intrusive activities (e.g., drilling, excavation, etc.) needs to enter the activity into the 811 system to ensure nearby underground facility owners are notified. The utility owners physically identify their utilities prior to the proposed activity date.

This is important because without proper notification, intrusive work can cause the following issues in these areas:

Equipment can contact underground remediation systems.

Excavation work can breach a cap or other engineering controls.

Unknowing third parties can potentially be exposed to contamination or activity can exacerbate cross contamination.

Environmental work being completed by third parties as part of ongoing claims or PRP disputes can put a client at risk without advance notice.

Roux Associates has successfully implemented an advance warning program through the use of the 811 One Call Program for projects where portions of the site are managed or owned by a third party, and where the client retains environmental responsibility and liability. By helping our clients to initiate and monitor the program, we aid in preventing any possible intrusive work consequences.

The first step would be to:

Enroll your site/property as a utility or facility owner into your state’s Call Before You Dig – 811 One Call Program.

The cost of the program is very inexpensive and is based on the number of notices occurring within the designated area.

The entire site or a portion of the site that needs to be monitored for third party activities can be enrolled into any state program.

Once enrolled in the program:

Each intrusive activity called in by contractors will result in a notification ticket sent to the project manager in advance of the work being completed.

Not only does this protect the client from intrusive activity, but it can also inform the managing consultant of a potential breach of deed restrictions or other property covenants.

Roux can assist you with setting up the program and monitoring to ensure you are alerted of any intrusive or third party activity in advance. If you would like to learn more about the 811 One Call Program, or would like to have Roux enroll you in the program, please click the button below.

We make a difference here at Roux Associates. We solve our clients’ most difficult and complex environmental challenges from environmental health and safety issues associated with air, water, land, and interior pollution, to hazardous materials and toxic waste treatment and disposal. We have a true understanding of our clients’ needs, and provide them with responsive project management and focused technical expertise. Innovation, hard work, and creativity are fueling forces that help us achieve our goals.

Whether you are a recent graduate who has worked hard to earn your degree, or an experienced professional looking for a company with the resources and interest to invest in your career, you will find the environment at Roux to be welcoming, challenging, and very rewarding—a place where your talents and skills can thrive.

The limited availability of water in the Amargosa River basin region creates a critical need for effective management to maintain its Wild and Scenic attributes inclusive of habitat for several endangered and threatened species. The current conceptual hydrogeologic model established for source water to the Amargosa River was tested in order to help inform management decisions regarding the Amargosa River’s Federal designation as Wild and Scenic through an act of Congress. The use of forensic tools and integration of multiple lines of geologic, hydrogeologic, geochemical and stable isotopic evidence suggest that the simple historical model for primary groundwater transport through this region is incorrect and that a large supply of regional baseflow does not provide the hydrogeological foundation of the Amargosa River basin. Data collected is consistent with an alternative model requiring complex source mixing and shallow alluvial groundwater that supports river flow. This conclusion also suggests Wild and Scenic conditions in this basin are more precarious than previously understood.

Andy Zdon, M. Lee Davisson, and Roux Associates’ Dr. Adam Love, are co-authors of the article, “Testing the Established Hydrogeologic Model of Source Water to the Amargosa River Basin, Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, California” that was published in the Journal of Environmental Forensics in November 2015. The article delves into why the historical hydrogeologic model is deemed insufficient as well as explores an alternative model that better reflects the physical characteristics of the Amargosa River basin while providing conclusion on the Wild and Scenic River conditions.

Roux Associates has a limited amount of complimentary copies. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, click here. Or you can visit the Journal of Environmental Forensics to purchase the article.

Our best product is the smart and creative thinking that we provide. We continually challenge our professionals with new opportunities in a supportive, healthy, sustainable and safe environment. We are constantly seeking talented and motivated engineers, scientists and support personnel with backgrounds in environmental engineering, earth sciences and civil and chemical engineering. Come by and visit Roux Associates at any of the upcoming career fairs / events!

February 10 – Penn State Spring Career Days

February 10 – Tufts University’s Spring Career Fair

February 24 – Civil and Environmental Engineering Networking Event – University of Illinois

Recently, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) released a policy statement that reaffirms the requirement of responsible parties to investigate surface waters and sediments including in areas that are suspected to be impacted from regional or background sources. This may have the potential to significantly affect the scale of anticipated assessment efforts and associated costs for projects adjacent to surface waters that are part of ongoing Federal Superfund or NRD evaluations. Background conditions can be evaluated and conducted pursuant to the February 2015 Ecological Evaluation Technical Guidance.